Dreams
by Hannah55
Summary: Six bodies in two weeks. Something is happening in Chicago, something that will change SSA Derek Morgan of the BAU's life forever. Badly beaten corpses are appearing in local parks, and Derek is having dreams, vivid dreams. . .
1. Chapter 1

Author Note:

Hello to everyone who clicked on this story. If you are like me then you will likely skip of the author note in order to get to the story, however, in this case I ask that you make an exception. I'm a long time reader of fan-fiction and long timer lover of the show. This is my first attempt that I have ever published and as such I welcome any review, good or bad. I've written quite a bit of this so far and will continue to post a chapter each week. I am a firm believer of not judging a show based on the pilot and I hope the same rule applies here, as such have two chapters this week, it will give you a bit of a look as to where I am going with this.

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it, either way let me know.

Thanks, Hannah. :)

Chapter 1

 _Derek Morgan opened his eyes slowly, savouring the feeling of the delicious warmth surrounding him. Inhaling deeply, he smelt the scent of cherry blossoms, the scent he had come to recognise as her shampoo. Looking down he caught a glimpse of long black hair splayed out around her face that continued to trail onto his torso. She was curled up against him, his arm wrapped around her waist and her head resting in the crook of his neck. Their legs were tangled together and his hand rested on her thigh. Rays of sunlight peaked through the curtains, dancing over the crisp white sheet, giving him an idea of just how late in the day it was. A feeling of happiness and peace washed through him, it was something he hadn't felt for a long time. His dark eyes swept over her features, taking in the length of her eyelashes and the fairness of her skin, the fullness of her red lips. He sighed contentedly, savouring the moment, wishing that it would never end._

 _"_ _Quit staring" she grumbled sleepily, opening one eye to mock glare at him._

 _A smile played on his lips "Can't," he replied in a low voice "you are so damn beautiful."_

 _A delicate flush spread over her cheeks, making him chuckle. She tilted her head up to meet his and pressed a chaste kiss on the edge of his jaw line. She repeated the motion, trailing a path upward to his lips, capturing his bottom lip with her teeth. Morgan let out a soft groan and without breaking the kiss rolled her body over so that he came to rest on top of her, his arms spread out on either side of her to support his weight. It wasn't long before the kiss deepened, causing a wealth of emotions to stir with in him. Fire raced down his every nerve and everything else seemed to fall away, all that mattered was the feel of her lips against his. Taking her lower lip into his mouth he begun to suck gently on it, her answering moan made his soul ache, he kissed her desperately, as if he were starving and she was the only sustenance in the world. Electric shocks ran down her spine and she clutched him tighter, her nails pressing into his lower back. Eventually the need for oxygen won out and they both pulled back, breathing heavily. Staring at her, the words tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them, but the moment they were out he knew them to be true. "I love you."_

 _She froze in his arms and looked directly into eyes as if she were trying to judge the sincerity of his words. A moment passed that seemed like eternity to Derek. A smile slowly spread across her lips and she breathed "I love you too."_

Derek awoke to the sound of a shrill ringing which he ignored, squeezing his eyes, trying to stay in the dream. The sound dropped off for a second before promptly starting again. Growling, he rolled over and sat up straight in his bed, experiencing momentary confusion as he tried to come back to reality. She wasn't beside him, the warmth had disappeared and along with it, the calm and happiness. Shaking his head from side to side he realised that it was just a dream, the most vivid one he had ever experienced. Slightly angered by this realisation and the annoying ringing he reached blindly for the source of the noise, his hand closed around his cell phone; from the caller ID he could see that it was Garcia. Flipping it open he answered the phone with a gruff "what?"

"Hello to you too sunshine" the usually bright voice replied, somewhat hurt.

"Sorry baby girl" he apologised, rubbing his face with his free hand "Weird night, have we got a case?"

"You're forgiven" she said, perking up "and yes, Hotch wants the team down here pronto."

"Be there soon." He said and closed the phone, setting it on the table beside him. _What was that?_ He thought. The dream was fresh in his mind, so clear that he had to check the other side of the bed to make sure that she wasn't there. Who was the girl? He thought for sure that he had never seen her before, he definitely would have remembered. Climbing out of bed he stumbled to the bathroom to splash some cold water on his face, trying to dispel the lingering effects of the dream, his body felt flushed and his emotions were all muddled and confused. Leaning on the sink he stared at his reflection in the mirror, a man with a red face and dazed, bloodshot eyes stared back. _Get a grip man_ ; he said to himself sternly, _you've had dreams like that before. Not as vivid_ , part of him argued, _and not with that level of emotion._ Breathing deeply he shrugged his shoulders as if trying to shrug off the dream itself. _Just ignore it_ , he told himself, and with that conviction he began to dress.

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Derek was the last one to the conference room when he arrived at Quantico, enough time had now passed for him to have put the dream to the back of his mind, it wasn't his main focus now. Garcia had already handed out the manila folders that contained the briefs of the case when he walked into the conference room; she gave him a small smile in greeting before handing him one. Garcia waited until Derek had sat down and she held everyone's attention before starting. "Alright" she began in an unusually sombre tone and she pressed a button on the remote that she held in her hand. Six separate photos appeared on the screen. "In Chicago six bodies have been found over the last two weeks, all with the same MO. The victims have suffered multiple fractures, bruises and contusions consistent with multiple beatings over a short period of time. Each body was found in local parks wrapped in plastic, with their arms folded over their chests."

"Six bodies?" Emily Prentiss asked almost incredulously, "and they only waited until now to bring us in?"

"The Chicago PD was reluctant to admit that they had a serial killer on their hands, they've been dealing with heat from the states department because of crime rate rises." Garcia replied, sharing the same frown as Emily.

"So in short, they didn't want to look bad." JJ said bitterly. "Why can't they just let us do our jobs?" she asked no one in particular.

"Back to the victims," Hotch cut in, with a tone that clearly said that the Chicago PD were not the issue, "the beatings seem like overkill but the way that the bodies were laid to rest would suggest remorse, the two don't usually go together."

"The medical examiner seems to think that the injuries were not caused by any sort of weapon, but rather that they are consistent of the wounds inflicted by hands and feet." David Rossi put in, reading from the file.

"There doesn't seem to be a connection between the victims, they are of different race, gender, even their physical attributes are different. How is he choosing them?" Spencer Reid asked in a puzzled tone.

"The amount of energy it takes to beat someone to death in this way would indicate an extremely high level of rage, maybe the unsub knew the victims personally." Morgan answered thoughtfully, tapping his fingers on the table.

"Six victims in two weeks is not a long cool down time," Hotch said "this unsub is confident which is bad news, we have to solve this case fast." He stood up and looked at each team member individually "Everyone gather their things, wheels up in fifteen."

Chapter 2

 _One, two. One, two._

The sound of flesh hitting something solid echoed throughout the empty room, joined occasionally by the sound of guttural grunts and heavy breathing. Elariah Montgomery stood in front of one of the many punching bags that were hanging around the room.

 _One, two. One, two._

Punching the bag was her release, her way of dealing stress and of working through her thoughts; it had been that way ever since she was sixteen. Now here she was thirteen years later and she still retained her coping mechanism.

Elariah knew that she was pushing her body to its limit, her last self defence class for the day had ended two hours ago and still she stood, venting her pent up emotions. Her limbs ached and were coated with sweat. Her long black hair, which had been braided back at the start of the day, had begun to fall out. Her chest was heaving as a result of the exertion she was putting herself through, but that didn't stop her. No, what stopped her was the loud buzzing that was coming from the corner of the room where she had left her gym bag. Halting her movements, she pushed the sweat soaked locks out of her face before walking over to pick up her phone.

Seeing the caller ID she smiled and flipped open the phone, "Okay okay, I'm heading home now." She said by way of greeting.

"Good," the voice of her best friend and roommate, Anya, answered "because I have here a full pint of cookies and cream ice cream and a collection of Molly Ringwold movies to watch, and I refuse to spend the night alone."

Chuckling, Elariah stooped to pick up her exercise bag and began to exit the Dojo, _her_ Dojo, she corrected herself, she had finally inherited it three months ago when her Aunt had passed away. She was still getting used to owning something so large. "Don't worry" she said opening the front door and scanning the car park, she hadn't realised how late it had gotten, it was completely dark and the sky was littered with bright twinkling lights. "I'm leaving right now." The combination of turning around to lock the door while trying to sling her bag on her right shoulder and at the same time focusing on what Anya was saying, led Elariah to fail to hear the approaching footsteps.

Whatever she had been about to say to Anya was cut short when a heavy blow landed on her head from behind, a surprised _oomph_ escaped her lips and Elariah slumped to the ground, unconscious and bleeding. "Elariah? Elariah, what was that?" the sound of Anya's frantic voice could be heard from the phone that lay a hands breath from Elariah's prone body. Bending down, a man with an unshaven beard and gloved hands closed the phone with a sharp _snap._ Gathering the slumped figure of Elariah in his arms, the man carried her to the back of his faded brown truck. He dumped her in the back, climbed into the front and drove off, leaving Elariah's scattered belongings and a faint blood spatter behind.

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The BAU team were all situated on the plane; it had just taken off when they received a video call from Garcia. "Ok crime fighters it looks like we have some new info." She began, waiting till she had everyone's attention, she continued. "If you all check your tablets you will see a photo of Elariah Montgomery, our latest victim."

Derek froze and sucked in a breath, an action that did not go unnoticed by the rest of the team. It was her! The girl from his dream. As he stared down at her smiling face, all of the emotions the dream had invoked came back and he found himself completely lost and confused. While he tried to digest this information he missed the question that was being asked of him. Looking up to see the team all staring at him expectantly, he realised that Hotch was speaking to him. "I'm. . . I'm sorry, what?" He asked a little unsteady, coming back into reality.

"I said, is something the matter?" Hotch said, staring at Derek with concerned eyes, he had noticed that the man had seemed distracted all morning.

"No, it's nothing, I'm fine."Morgan insisted, trying to collect himself, taking a deep breath he asked as nonchalantly as possible "so who is she?"

Garcia paused before answering, giving Derek an appraising look. "Elariah is a twenty nine year old woman, single and fresh out of college; with get this, a master's degree in criminology as well as a degree in behavioural psychology. She was reported missing this morning."

"So, again our unsub has gone for someone completely different then their other victims. Elariah is intelligent and young while the other victims have all been 35 years and up with little or no education." Rossi stated.

"How do we know she is missing?" JJ asked "maybe she took a spontaneous trip somewhere."

"Her roommate was on the phone with her when it happened sweet cheeks." Garcia explained, "Said that she was talking to Elariah when she suddenly heard a loud thump and a grunt before someone hung up the phone. Besides they found blood at the abduction site, and her car was left in the lot with her possessions scattered on the ground. The police are canvassing the area now."

There was a pause as the team digested this, "It seems sloppy." Emily put in "Attacking her while she was on the phone, leaving her things behind."

"Emily is right; the other abductions were more premeditated, this seems like more of a spontaneous action, one with very little thought." Spencer Reid said referring back to his folder.

"It's a high risk area as well" Garcia added "lots of foot traffic, even at that time of night."

"This abduction was nothing like the methodical style the unsub has shown before." Rossi said.

"So what are we thinking?" Morgan asked "are they devolving, or is there another unsub?"

"Too soon to tell" Aaron Hotchner answered "we will have to get there and see." He looked at the others, "Alright, when we land I want Rossi and Emily to head to the medical examiner, see if there is anything the local police have missed to tie these victims together. JJ, if you could coordinate with the local police and media? The last thing we need is this thing to cause panic. Reid and Morgan, go to Elariah's apartment, talk to the roommate, see if she can remember anything more about what happened." Everyone nodded and began to settle into their seats.

"Thanks baby girl" Morgan said, looking up at Penelope.

"Anytime sugar, Garcia out." The screen went dark.

Derek stared out the window, lost in thought. How was it possible to dream of someone you hadn't met? Realising how much of a problem it could be if he let this affect him so deeply, he tried to relax. Maybe the girl in the dream wasn't Elariah at all, maybe he was making more of this situation then it needed to be. Taking a deep breath, he resolved to forget about the dream, to push it away for now, there would be plenty of time to analyse things later.


	2. Chapter 2

4

Author Note:

Okay I know I said I'd update once a week but I couldn't wait. Thank you to all who have viewed it so far. Please let me know what you think, I love feedback, bad or good just let me know. Also I love suggestions if anyone has any ideas.

Enjoy! :)

Chapter 3

 _Cold._

That was the first thing Elariah thought when she slowly became conscious. She was so _cold_. _Anya forgot to turn the heater on last night_ , she thought sleepily. _She really has to stop doing that, it's almost winter time._ As her thoughts slowly started to clear, she began to feel the hardness of the floor beneath her and the throbbing ache at the back of her head. _What happened last night?_ She tried to remember, _Car park_ , she thought, _night time. . . Oh my god_. The memories of the previous night slammed into her and with it an over whelming feeling of eyes flew open and she bolted upright, wherever she was it was dark which only served to increase her panic. She felt herself begin to hyperventilate and felt her heart begin to pound. Realising that panicking wouldn't help her at all she tried to calm herself down. Using breathing exercises to help, she was rewarded when after a few minutes her heart rate slowed and the fear began to retreat, leaving calm determination in its wake.

 _Okay,_ she told herself, _find out where you are._ Elariah closed her eyes for a moment before opening them and trying to take stock of her surroundings, her eyes took a few seconds to adjust and when they did she was able to make out the blurred outlines of bars. Standing up she felt around with her arms to find that she was in a cage, one that was no bigger than her closet at home. Grabbing a hold of one of the bars, she began to test the strength of them, after a few minutes she fell back disheartened by their sturdiness.

Reaching behind her to feel the back of her neck, she winced and her hand came away slick with blood. Elariah knew that the wound was probably a contributing factor to the disorientation she was feeling, she most likely had a concussion. A wave of nausea overcame her and she had to sit down and place her head between her knees until it passed.

She froze when she heard the sounds of footsteps approaching. _Two people,_ she deduced _male, from the sounds of it._ Standing back up she moved her body into a defensive position, bracing herself and the sound drew nearer and nearer. The steps paused and a soft glow filled the room. Elariah blinked hard and took the opportunity to take in her surroundings. On either side of her cell she was able to see one exactly identical to hers. One side of her cage had a passage, also barred off, that led to a larger, circular cage in the middle of the room. Craning her neck to the edge of her cell she could see that the other cages also had similar passages that led to the same circular area. In the direction from where the footsteps sounded she was able to see a corridor with a low hanging ceiling, a door lay mid way down the passage. That was her way out, she decided, as soon as she could figure out how to escape the bars. For now she pushed these thought aside, she had to have full concentration on the two men who were seconds away from her.

"She awakens." And cold voice sounded, the owner of which was a tall man, his features indistinguishable in the low light. "I thought you may have killed her, head wounds are always unpredictable." He said with an edge of disapproval to his companion, a man who was considerably smaller in statute, Elariah could see.

"Why have you brought me here?" Elariah questioned, keeping her tone as steady as possible, unwilling to show any form of weakness.

"Shut up!" the tall man demanded harshly "I didn't ask you to speak." She could see that he had a temper, one that was easily trigged. She could also see that this man was the dominate one of the pair, he was imposing and his body language showed it. His eyes roamed Elariah body, sending cold chills throughout her being. "She looks strong," he stated with approval, "despite the sloppiness of your abduction, you picked a good one." After pausing he turned to the smaller man, "It will be tonight." He stated, before returning down the corridor.

Elariah waited until the sound of his footsteps faded before turning her attention to the smaller man. He remained a few feet from the bars, watching her intently. Now that her full attention was on him, she was able to hear his breathing; there was a slight hitch to it, a kind of rattle. "What will be tonight?" she asked him, this time adding a tone of frailty to her speech. She received no answer; instead the man stepped forward and placed a plastic cup full of water on the ground, just outside of the cage. Without taking her eyes off of him Elariah stooped down slowly, retrieving the cup. "Thank you" she said softly once she was standing. Despite the uneasiness she felt drinking anything she hadn't prepared herself, Elariah sensed an opportunity to try and garner some trust with this man and took a sip, swallowing quickly. Looking back up she consciously made her posture slack and asked in the same soft tone, "My name is Elariah, what's yours?"

The man paused for a few moments and his breathing became wetter, his gaze never left her face. "Caleb." His voice was weak, a pathetic whine, almost a wheeze. The sound of it made Elariah's skin crawl, but she kept all revulsion off of her face and out of her voice.

"That's a nice name" was all she could think to say. Caleb stiffened, she got the impression that he hadn't been given a compliment before, it was one of the things she was counting on. "What will be tonight?" she asked again. Caleb opened his mouth as if to answer her but bent over suddenly as a coughing fit over took him. After a few moments passed it retreated and he stood up gasping for breath, he gave her one last look before turning and walking down the corridor, just like his partner. The soft glow disappeared the same time his footsteps did. Sighing Elariah slid to a sitting position and began to rack her brain for a way out, trying not to let despair take hold of her.

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"Who did you say you were again?"

"I am SSA Derek Morgan, and this is Doctor Spencer Reid. As I said before ma'am, we're with the Behavioural Analysis Unit of the FBI." Morgan repeated this patiently, the victim's roommate was suspicious in nature, you didn't have to be an expert in behavioural psychology to see that. Having spent ten minutes explaining who they were and why they were at her door, she had yet to let them inside of the apartment.

After a few minutes silence the scrape of a chain against the lock could be heard and the door opened. A short woman stood in the doorway; she had close cropped blonde hair which a large pink flower was pinned against. She was wearing a cardigan that was a violent shade of orange and had topped the look off with bright purple lipstick. _Maybe Garcia should be doing this interview,_ Morgan thought wryly. "Come in" she said impatiently, as though they had been keeping her waiting. The apartment was in complete disarray on one side while immaculately kept on the other. At a glance Derek could guess which possessions belonged to which roommate.

"We are sorry for bothering you, Anya, isn't it? I know you would have already been through this with the local police, but we would like you to go through what happened last night again if you would." Morgan stared at her, analysing her expression.

Anya moved and sat down on the couch, gesturing for them to do the same. "Did you two want anything to drink?" she asked absently.

"No thank you." Reid answered "Listen Anya, we understand that you heard the abduction on the phone, is that correct?"

Anya nodded "I was calling to tell her to come home, she was staying late at her Dojo again. She was just leaving when I heard the blow." Her voice cracked. "I. . . I started asking if she was alright but she didn't answer, someone hung the phone up."

"Did you notice anything abnormal in the days leading up to the abduction?" Spencer asked. "Did she mention anything about being watched or had she met anyone new?"

"No, she was the same, things were the same."

"You said that she was staying late at her Dojo, was that strange?" Morgan interjected.

"No, it was something she had been doing over the past few months, ever since her aunt died." Anya looked Derek straight in the eyes and, as if anticipating what he was going to say, stated, "She doesn't have any enemies either, she is extremely well loved."

"Okay then, back to the call, did you hear anything that might help identify her attacker? The smallest detail may help, maybe a sound that could distinguish gender?" Morgan asked.

"No. . .No there was nothing- oh wait! I remember, just before the phone hung up I heard breathing." She closed her eyes tight, as if searching for the memory. "It was weird, like wet or something, maybe a whine."

Spencer looked up curiously "was there a rattling sound?" he asked "or maybe a high pitched noise, like a chew toy?"

"Yes actually, both. How did you know?"

Spencer wasn't looking at her; his features had twisted into an expression of concentration. "Lucky guess, will you excuse me for a moment?" he asked, and without waiting for an answer stood up and walked out of the apartment, pulling his phone out as he did so.

"He's a little strange." Anya remarked, looking after his retreating back.

Morgan stifled a smile "you have no idea."

"She's my best friend you know? I should have called her home earlier." She said, her eyes looking far away "Maybe she'd still be here if I had." she stood up suddenly "Would you like to see her things?" Anya asked abruptly.

"I. . . uh sure." Derek had been about to refuse but the look on the young woman's face stopped him, he understood the need to be doing something. He stood and followed her into a smaller room off of the side. The room was spotless, the walls were painted a pale blue, books of all kinds littered every bit of spare space. A large bed was pushed against the far wall and a desk lay off to the right. In the middle of the bed sat a small stuffed elephant, the sight of which made Derek smirk a little. Covering the walls were photos, picture of people he didn't know and of places he hadn't seen, he was turning around when one caught his eye. It was of Elariah, looking exhausted, sporting both a large bruise on her cheekbone and a beaming smile. In her hands she held a trophy. Something tugged at his memory and he turned to Anya. "You said she was leaving her Dojo, was Elariah much of a martial artist?"

"Oh yes, ever since she was sixteen. She's won loads of competitions for it." Anya replied wearing a soft smile.

Derek nodded at this information, a theory beginning to form "I'm sorry, do you mind excusing me? I think we've got to be going now."

"Of course." Anya replied.

"Thank you for your time; we'll contact you if we have any further questions." Derek smiled at her before brushing by her and exiting the apartment, in the adjoining hallway he found Reid, leaning against the wall and on the phone.

"Yes, we'll be right there" he answered whoever he was talking to before hanging up the phone and turning look at Derek, a triumphant grin on his face.

"Was that Hotch?" Derek asked.

"Yes he wants us back at the station, I've got a thought about the unsub."

"Me too" Derek said "I think I know how he's choosing his victims".


	3. Chapter 3

Author Note:

Thank you to everyone who is keeping track of this story, and as always feedback is very welcome, desired, wanted. Don't make me beg, any words will do. :)  
In any case enjoy the next installment!

Chapter 4

"Hey baby girl, d'you mind doing some background research on the victims?" The team were situated around a conference table in the Chicago PD station.

"Of course, anything for you sugar." The cheery voice chirped from the phone Derek was currently holding. "What are you looking for?"

"Has any of the victims had any previous fight training? Martial arts, boxing or anything of the like?"

"You think he's choosing them based on their fighting skills?" JJ asked curiously.

"It's just a hunch" Derek replied.

"And a good one at that," Garcia cut in "Brenda Hamilton, aka victim number uno, won a state champion kick boxing completion last year. Michael Thomson, victim number four, was a Tae Kwon Do instructor, Richard White, the last victim, was a black belt in karate."

"Well what about the others?" Hotch asked.

"Nothing that I can find on record. . ." Garcia replied, the sound of rapid clacking could be heard through the other end.

"The beating the victims took, none of them are consistent with one perpetrator." Rossi said thoughtfully, looking through the notes he received from the medical examiner.

"That right." Emily agreed, "Some of the beating were given by a left hander while others were given by a right. Some of the fractures could only be given by someone standing at five feet while others were given by someone easily a foot taller."

"What I'm thinking," Morgan said "Is that the unsub isn't the one doing the actual beating, I think it's the victims."

"Wait, hold on." JJ cut in "are you saying that the victims are attacking each other? Like a fight club scenario?"

"That's exactly what I think." Derek said, looking at the others in turn.

"It makes sense." Rossi said slowly, "why the multiple beatings and the inconsistencies in the method."

"You mean some whack job is abducting people and forcing them to beat each other to death?" Garcia asked horrified "that's gross; I'm out, call me when you need me." The line went dead.

"There's something else too." Reid said looking around the table. "Elariah Montgomery's roommate, said that she heard wet breathing from the unsub, a kind of rattle. Typically people who suffer from diseases of the lungs, such as TB have that symptom. It got me thinking we can definitely rule out one unsub if that's the case. The victims, are trained fighters, one man alone, a sick man at that, wouldn't have been able to pull this many abductions off. I think we're dealing with a pair."

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Elariah was biting her nails again. It was something she had always done in the past to keep her nerves under control. She had finally kicked the habit last year but after god only knows how long in a dark cramped cage, after being abducted by a pair of insane, sadistic men. Her nerves had gotten the better of her. After trying to open the cage for what seemed like hours, with no success, Elariah figured that conserving her energy was the most important thing to do. She had no idea what her captors had in store for her. And she was already weakened by her head wound. Not to mention after hours of no sustenance, she was hungry.

With nothing to occupy her mind, it began to wander.

When Elariah was sixteen her parents died; a mugging gone wrong, the police had said. Maybe the perpetrator was too jumpy and her father refused to give up his wallet, maybe it was some kind of gang initiation any way it Elariah ran it through her mind she always came up with the same outcome. Her parents were gone and she was left in the care of her aunt, her aunt that happened to be a martial arts enthusiast.

After all the hours of effort, after all of the blood, sweat and tears, Elariah felt it was worth it. She was safe. She was able to defend herself, to take on any mugger who was stupid enough to pick her as a target. And yet here she was, held captive in some dark, dank cage bleeding from her scalp; captured by some pathetic man with some kind of bronchial illness. And now she was biting her nails. _The Universe must have a sense of humour_ she thought wryly.

A sudden, bright light filled the small space, the round cage in the middle of the room lit up with intense white light, originating from spotlights situated in the ceiling. A speaker crackled to life, the voice coming out of was distorted and low pitched, not human.

"The fight will begin in 5 minutes."

Elariah froze, her mind racing, _The fight? It's some kind of sick fight?_

A loud shuddering began from the other side of the room, and slowly a person came into view. His clothes were tattered and stained with blood, his stride was staggered, as if his leg was hurt. He was a large man; a very large man and well muscled. His dark skin helped to hide the dried blood stains that covered at least half of his face. The shuddering sounded again and from the opposite side of the cage came a small girl, around 17 years old with shoulder length blonde hair. Her clothes were new and she was shaking from head to toe, looking equal parts confused and terrified. "What's going on?" she asked, a small tremor running through her voice. The man didn't respond.

Elariah pushed herself up against the cage bars, trying to see better. The cold metal pressed against her flushed skin, she was about ten meters away from the pair, who stood about two meters apart, facing each other.

 _He's going to kill her_. She thought, and for the hundredth time her eyes scanned around the cage, searching for a way out.

"Two minutes" The voice sounded again.

"We have to fight?" The girl whispered, her voice breaking, "But I can't!"

The man only stared back, his eyes expressionless. There wasn't any feeling left in him. He had lost it the first time he had smashed a person's skull in with his bare hands. All that was left of him now was an empty husk and a will to survive at any cost. The silence stretched out between them, silence that was broken only by the hitched breathing of the girl.

"One minute."

"Please!" The anguished cry echoed around the room, reverberating off the walls of the cells. "I just want to go home!" She screeched, but there was no reply.

Elariah looked on, horrified. There was nothing she could do; she was helpless to stop what was going to happen. She was going to watch this man beat this girl to death.

"30 seconds."

The man placed his feet apart and raised his massive fists, his muscles standing out from the tension. The girl only trembled; too scared to move, to make a sound. She looked terrified, pathetic.

"Fight."

She moved, fast. So fast that Elariah's eyes could not follow the movement. Within a second she had struck out and the man's head snapped back, shock etched on his face. Before he had a chance to recover the girl hit him twice in the gut and danced out of reach before his tired body could strike back.

Elariah looked on, a mixture of surprise and disgust on her face. _A strategy_. She realised. _What the hell is going on?!_

The fight continued, the man now shot back out of the reach of the girl's last blow and wiped the blood from his nose, wary now, no longer under the impression of her weakness.

He went on the attack, lurching forward after a brief second of contemplation. His moves were purely that of brute strength, no grace involved. His moves seemed sloppy but when he hit it was with the force of a small truck. Something the girl soon realised as a blow to her temple sent her flying backward. She regained her balance quickly.

Where he was strong, she was contemplative, she considered every movement and when she struck, she was as fast as a viper with deadly accuracy. Elariah began to view the match with new eyes; speed could often win over brute strength, if only the girl could hold out for longer. The man was obviously tired, his breathing heavy. If she could just wear him down. . .

Suddenly the man charged, the girl tried to move out of the way but she stumbled, tripping over her own feet. Wrapping his arms around her torso, the man slammed her down on the concrete floor. His positioned himself over her, straddling her waist. The girl struggled to get out of his grasp, but with one quick movement his yanked her head up by her hair and back down again, slamming it into the hard floor, once, twice, three times. He continued to do this even after she grew unnaturally still, spraying blood in every direction. Suddenly he stopped; the man stood up, stared at the crumpled form in front of him for a moment, and then turned his back. The shuddering sounds began again and he walked out of sight. The lights went were shut off without warning and the last thing Elariah saw before her world plunged into darkness was the crumpled body of a young girl, blood and brain matter splattered all over the floor.

Elariah was trembling, her hands reached up to smother the sound of utter despair that left her mouth. Her cheeks were wet, she didn't realise she was crying. _I am going to die._


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:**

 **Thank you all for continuing to read my story! If you like it enough to leave a review I'll be grateful but either way enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: It comes to my attention that I haven't done one of these yet so none of the characters you recognise in this story belong to me; I just get to mess around with them a little. :)**

Chapter 5.

 _Her fingertips trailed slowly up and down the length of his arm, admiring the contrast. She liked to see their skin together. Pale white against mocha, it was beautiful. Her gaze lifted to scrutinise his features, soft, kind. Especially now that he was sleeping, all of the tension had drained away from his face, making him seem younger, innocent. He muttered something under his breath and his arm tightened around her, pulling her closer to his chest. Elariah took a deep breath. Before she had met him she never felt safe. She was always on guard, always waiting for the moment when something would go wrong, the moment when her entire world would fall away. But here, now, in his arms, she felt protected. Safe. Nothing could harm her as long as she was with him, she could finally rest. And that's exactly what she did. Elariah felt her eyes flutter shut._

Elariah's eyes snapped open. She felt as though she plunged her head into ice cold water. The warmth she had felt in her sleep was gone, replaced by fear and pain. This was not right; this was not where she was supposed to be. Instead of a solid body next to hers all she could feel was the hard, rough surface of the wall. Everything was harsh, unyielding; the floor beneath her, the walls around her, the pain that blocked her thoughts, pressing against her head. She felt no peace, no safety, only a vice that continued to tighten around her chest. Her head began to spin; inhaling was a feat of strength she was not prepared for. _I'm having a panic attack,_ her reasonable mind tried to tell her, but it was no use, all she felt was crushing terror. She was going to die, she was going to die and no one would ever know. Her brains would be splattered all over the floor just like that young girl and all because she wasn't paying attention to her surroundings. It turns out that all the training, all the effort to protect herself was for nothing. In fact, it was the reason she was here in the first place. Elariah laughed, loudly, with a hysterical edge to it. _Look at me now Mom and Dad. . ._

It was that thought that helped to calm her. Her parents had died on the street, helpless, that wasn't going to be her. She was strong, she had made herself strong. Her entire life had been training her for this moment. She could do this. She could survive. If anyone could find their way out of this it would be her, she had a Master's degree in Criminology for Christ's sake. If she couldn't get out of this then no one could.

Elariah clutched to this thought as though it were a life raft in the middle of a stormy sea. It was her lifeline. _I can do this,_ She repeated it over and over in her mind, out loud. Until slowly, the vice began to loosen, her breathing returned to normal. Now it was time to think of a way out. It would be her turn next and she was going to be ready.

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"We advise that all residents of Chicago exercise extreme caution until the perpetrators of these crimes are apprehended. Places of high risk include the parking lots of gyms and other self defence institutions. Please do not travel by yourselves at night, and make sure all of your doors and windows are locked at all times. Be assured that the BAU and the Chicago Police Department are pooling every available resource in order to find the missing persons and bring the assailants to justice." As soon as JJ paused the noise began, questions being thrown from all corners of the room. The small conference room based in the front of the department was currently filled with reporters from every major news station in Chicago. Apparently every single one of them felt that what they had to say was the most important. JJ took a deep breath, trying not to feel overwhelmed, she always hated this part. Self consciously she pulled at the bottom of her lavender blouse.

"That is all the BAU have to say on the subject, anyone with information is encouraged to call the hotline. Thank you for your time." JJ stepped back from the podium, amidst the rabble of the reporters all clamouring for a response. She turned to leave, the deputy police commissioner stepping in to handle the flood. JJ had read his motives after two seconds of meeting him. This middle aged man in an expensive suit did not want the BAU anywhere near his city; the city currently facing the greatest crime rate rise in thirty years. He wanted the entire thing to be dealt with quickly and quietly, preferably with credit given to his department and of course, all due to his management skills. She detested this part of her job, liaising with the media was always a pain, but dealing with bull headed politicians was definitely worse. She left the hot stuffy room, and walked down the narrow corridor, into the large conference room around the corner. The BAU had turned it into their base of operations. A large, pine table sat in the center, ten uncomfortable straight-backed chairs placed around it. In one of these chairs sat Dr. Spencer Reid, staring intently a map of the city, placing different coloured pins in a methodical manner. At the back of the room was a large glass board. A photo of each of the six victims was posted on it, and underneath was listed information about their personality, their medical examinations. Aaron Hotchner stood beside it, adding a large photo of Elariah to the group.

"How did the conference go?" he asked, turning to see her more clearly. Reid looked up from his papers to hear her answer.

"Usual drill, although I'm think the commissioner rather enjoyed himself." JJ replied pointedly.

"Yes he did seem. . .eager." Hotch walked forward to take the seat beside Reid, taking some papers from the center. "This latest case is a publicity nightmare for his department. He took the time earlier to inform me exactly how fast he wanted this case solved."

JJ raised her eyebrows, "I'm glad he's showing such concern for the citizens of Chicago." She stated dryly. "How's the geographical profile going Spence?"

Before he could answer Morgan strode in, "Emily called." He said by way of greeting. "There's another body."

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The air was cold; it was an October morning in Chicago and Prentiss was shivering despite her heavy wool coat. But maybe it wasn't entire due to the cold wind. She and Rossi stood in the center of large grassy field in one of the better known parks of the city. Tall trees encircled them; russet coloured leaves dotting the already sparse branches, decaying foliage littered the ground, the colour of caramel and chocolate. It was a beautiful scene, marred dramatically by the body. Emily looked down over the prone figure of a young girl, barely out of high school. Her mussed blonde hair shifted with the breeze to fall across her face. Her features were petite, her long lashes casting shadows across her cheekbones. Lying on her side, knees drawn to her chest and arms crossed over herself, Emily could almost believe she was sleeping. That was except for the blood that was matted in her hair and the large indent of her skull. Her body was wrapped securely in plastic, like a protective cocoon.

"Remorse." Stated Rossi, kneeling beside the figure, "Look at the way he's positioned her, just like she's sleeping. He's trying to distance himself from the fact that she's dead. Just like the others."

"She isn't like the others though," Emily replied, her brown eyes falling over the girl's youthful features. "She is much younger and she doesn't look like she could take much of a hit, what made the unsub choose her?" Prentiss asked, her face pulling into a puzzled frown.

"You're right, she's what, 5"2, 100 pounds? Not exactly the seasoned fighter." Rossi replied.

"And look, she isn't as beaten. Her face is hardly bruised."

"She was killed more quickly than the others." Rossi nodded. His mouth twisted into a grimace as he appraised the wound to her skull. "I think we can assume cause of death as blunt force trauma."

Emily stepped back from the body under the guise of looking around the scene, in reality she was trying to put some distance between the girl and her. It was always hard, but this girl was just so young. Her gaze fell unto the large crown that was pressed against the crime tape, trying to get a close look. Something occurred to her, "This is a high profile location, a popular park. A high chance someone would see a man staging the body of a young girl, even at night."

"He's confident, we've established that." Said Rossi, eyes meeting Emily's curiously.

"Well we've profiled a team, and it's clear to see the submissive is the one disposing of the bodies, so where does the confidence come from?" She asked, her brows twisted in thought, "it's almost like he's unafraid, like he wants to get caught."

They fell into contemplative silence, silence that was broken by a shrill ring.

"Yeah Garcia." Emily said into her phone, "What going on?"

"You have to get back to the team," was the response "I've found something."


End file.
